BM IA - Question:

Candidate name: Chan, Leo Benjamin

Candidate number: 002786-004

Business and Management (Higher Level) - Internal Assessment

Which non-financial factor is most needed for Ann Taylor Loft (ATL), a division of the Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd (H.K) to increase its employees motivation?

Candidate name: Chan, Leo Benjamin

Candidate number: 002786 - 004

Word Count

Main Essay: 1991Executive Summary: 221Research Proposal: 498

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Chung Sin Wa the General merchandising manager of Ann Taylor Loft - for her time and generosity of providing valuable information that make this report possible.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentP.2Executive summaryP.4-5Research proposalP.6-9IntroductionP.10MethodologyP.11Main results & findingsP.12-17Analysis & discussionsP.18-22Conclusions and recommendationsP.23-24ReferencesP.25AppendicesP.26Executive Summary

Ann Taylor Loft, a division of the Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd (H.K), has expressed its desire to increase its employees motivation. As such, this report focuses on Which non-financial factor is most needed for Ann Taylor Loft (ATL), a division of the Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd to increase its employees motivation?

This report consists of a research proposal and a written report. The research proposal includes a rationale, the methodology and a theoretical framework. An introduction provides background information of Ann Taylor Loft relating to the research question.

Analysis and discussion are based on primary and secondary research. Primary research involves conducting questionnaires on the employees regarding their motivation and an interview with Anna Chung. Secondary research looks at motivation in theory and techniques that were adopted by other businesses.

The report concludes that recognition is the most needed non-financial factor to increase employees motivation in the division, because it is likely to have the greatest potential positive influences on the employees motivation in Ann Taylor Loft and is also the most corresponding factor to the working environment. It is recommended for the manager to Further research about financial motivational factors

Foster a culture in the team that encourages recognition Adopt a mindset of recognition Undertake questionnaires once a year to keep track of the morale of the team

Research Proposal

Research Question: Which non-financial factor is best for Ann Taylor Loft (ATL), a division of the Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd (H.K) to increase its employees motivation?

Rationale:

Ann Taylor had expressed their desire to increase its employees motivation. In year 2008 and 2009, they had conducted surveys to identify how motivated their staff is. They believe that if the staff is motivated, the productivity and the efficiency of the workforce will be increased. Hence, this report is necessary because it meets the management teams values and objectives, and also provides references to previous data of employees motivation in ATL.Theoretical Framework:

This report examines the non-financial factors that may motivate workforce based on the data collected from primary research. The data will also help to highlight which aspects of job satisfaction techniques should be focused to increase employees motivation, in reference to motivation theories including Maslows Hierarchy of needs, Herzbergs Two factor theory, McClellands Theory of needs, Mayos Human relations, Adams Equity theory, and Adairs Model of teambuilding.Key Areas of Syllabus:

2.5 Motivation2.4 LeadershipMethodology:

Primary resources:

Conduct questionnaires on Ann Taylor Lofts employees to establish information regarding their level of motivation and ways to increase it.

Interview the General Merchandising Manager in Ann Taylor Loft about her management style, the working environment, culture and specifics of the team, in order to make recommendations.

Secondary resources:

Review Ann Taylor Lofts past associate engagement survey to generate ideas on developing the questionnaire for this research.

Review a range of external secondary sources (hardcopy and electronics books and online websites) related to motivation theories and motivational techniques that has adopted by other firms.

Anticipated difficulties:

Possible Problems:Solutions:

The response rate to my questionnaire may be low. Persuade the manager to make the questionnaires compulsory.

Due to the large size of workforce in AnnTaylor, the required in-depth analysis may not be handled within the word limit. Narrow down the scope of investigation to an optimal-sampling size that can be managed within the word limit.

Limited perspective about ways to increase employees motivation from primary research.Balance it with external sources including both theories and real life techniques that are adopted by other firms to increase their staffs motivation.

Biased responses from questionnaires and interviews.Acknowledge in conclusion.

Interview questions too specific in nature, limiting depthAsk variety of relevant close and open-ended questions.

Dates (2009)ActivitiesModifications

FebruaryBegin topic selection

MarchBegin research proposal

27th AprilResearch proposal presented to classResearch question was slightly modified.

Early MayVisit Wan Chi Resources Library

1st JuneFinalize and present IA company and question

26th JulyDesign questionnaire & confirm interview time

30th JulyDistribute questionnaire & collect data

2th AugWrite interview questions

10th AugConduct interview with Anna ChungAsked additional questions spontaneously.

15th 30th AugBegin the write up

31st AugHand in draft

Sept - Dec Refine draft Conducted more secondary research on external sources

Word deletions

15th DecFinal submission

Action Plan:Introduction

Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd, a subsidiary of Ann Taylor Ltd focuses on the manufacturing of the designed samples sent from the US office.

In 2007 and 2008, Ann Taylor Ltd had carried out surveys to identify how motivated its employees were. The main purpose of these surveys was to improve the workplace culture, hence to create a high-performing team.

As such, this report focuses on this important aspect that is valued by Ann Taylor and specifically examines:

Which non-financial factor is most needed for Ann Taylor Loft (ATL), a division of the AnnTaylor Sourcing Far East Ltd (H.K) to increase its employees motivation?Methodology

Primary and secondary researches were conducted while looking into both internal and external sources. The purpose of the researches was to establish information about the working conditions in Ann Taylor Loft. Primary research involved conducting questionnaires on their employees and an interview with Anna Chung. The questionnaire is designed with 5-point scale and close-ended questions and also offers the employees a list of factors to choose to increase their motivation. The interview with Ms. Chung, which contains open-ended questions, focuses on her working style, the working environment, and her teams morale and performance.

Secondary research involves examining examples of how other businesses motivate their employees through non-financial methods, looking at ATLs previous motivation survey as a sample to design the questionnaire for this research, and exploring motivational theories from academic books. The theories include Adairs model of team building, Mayos human relations, Adams Equity theory, Herzbergs Two Factor theory, and Maslows Hierarchy of needs. Main results and findings

The data collected from primary and secondary research can be summarized in these aspects: the teams performance and morale, motivational factors that the employees values and desire, existing motivational factors in the team, the management style. A. The teams performance and morale

According to Figure 1, the employees in ATL are definitely motivated. There are 76% who claims to be motivated at work, while only 14% are de-motivated and the remaining 10% chose not to answer the question.

Figure 1:

Aside from the employees perspectives, Ms. Chung also commented the morale of her team is not too bad. On the performance of her team, Ms. Chung is generally satisfied with her team as they meet her expectations, but remarked that there are always rooms for improvement.

B - Motivational factors that the employees value and desireThese following graphs show a pattern of non-financial factors that the employees in ATL desire. Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Figure 2 shows that the three most valued factors by employee in a workplace are teamwork (with 35%), recognition (with 13%) and progression (with 10%). Figure 3 indicates the three highest percentage non-financial factors that the employees believe can raise their motivation are recognition (with 19%), achievement (with 14%) and progression with (11%). Note that remuneration is disregarded, as the main focus here is on non-financial factors.

C - Existing motivational factors in the team

The employees who undertook the questionnaire were also asked to give a score from 1 (fully disagree) to 5 (fully agree) on statements about the working environment in Ann Taylor Loft from question 1 to 12, and the results is shown in the graph below.Figure 4:

Figure 4 indicates that the employees are generally satisfied with ATL as no questions were given with the score of Level 1-3 over 50%, and also helps to identify acceptable salary (Q2), receiving recognition (Q5), and opportunities to learn and grow (Q6) are the aspects that should be concerned, as employees are most dissatisfied with these three items. In addition, Figure 5 shows that most employees in Ann Taylor Loft are more satisfied with teamwork (26%) and flexibility (15%) in their current job, followed by achievement, recognition, progression, and pressure, with each sharing 11%.

Figure 5:

D - Management Style

The employees in ATL function as a team and are held accountable to Ms. Chung, the general merchandising manager in ATL. Thus, it is highly significant to understand her management style in order to answer the research question. In the interview, Ms. Chung claims that her management style is rather democratic, because she sets up critical checkpoints of a task and only intervenes if she believes the person and the situation is at risk, and also because she believes managers [under herself] should have ownership. Also, she consults with her managers and ask for their opinions while making a decision. It is also important to note that she describes herself as an outcome-orientated person, who cares more about the overall performance rather than her employees feelings. In addition, Ms. Chung mentioned that she drafts the teams objectives and discusses it with managers under her. According to Ms. Chung, the employees work as a team, and each of them has their own responsibilities.

E. The selected factors for analysis

From Figure 2 to Figure 5, they establish a significant pattern of non-financial factors that is important to the employees and should be thoroughly analyzed in the latter part of the report. These factors are teamwork, progression, and recognition. This pattern of non-financial factors also corresponds to Ms. Chungs perspective as the manager of this team to a certain extent. She believes it is important to let them perceive that they have opportunities to grow. Recognition of their effort and performance is also essential in motivating my team.

Analysis and discussion

The non-financial factors to be analyzed are progression, teamwork, and recognition.

To answer the research question requires the evaluation of each selected factors potential influences on the employees motivation and its degree of correspondence to the working environment.

Progression involves providing opportunities for the employees to learn and grow. It is evident in Figure 4 and 5 that the employees are not satisfied with opportunities to grow in Ann Taylor Loft. In fact, Ms. Chung believes that it is important to let the employees perceive that they have opportunities to grow. Arguably, as progression involves advancement, it can also fall in the category of need for achievement in McClellands theory of needs. Hence, as they are more concerned with personal achievement according to McClelland, progression does not seem to be the most suitable factor to ATLs working environment.

Indeed, with the bringing of progression, the values of fairness, responsibility, and the eagerness to achieve in the team may be undermined. Firstly, it is highly unlikely that all team members can be provided with equal opportunities or progression, therefore, according to Adams Equity theory, as the workers naturally

Compare their efforts/rewards to those of others in the workplace, this inequality is likely to cause dissatisfaction and possibly those disgruntled employees will reduce their efforts and contributions. More importantly, the dissatisfaction of equality, as a value that is shared by the team, can ultimately erodes the teams unity and morale. In addition, progression is not particularly favorable to the employees. According to Figure 2 and 3, it is the least valued factor in a workplace and the employees ranked it last as a factor to increase their motivation, amongst the three selected non-financial factors for the analysis section.

Although teamwork is most valued by employees as shown in Figure 2, it may not be the most needed non-financial factor for ATL to increase their employees motivation. Significantly, teamwork is not the top three factors that the employees think can increase their motivation in Figure 3, which is due to various reasons.

One obvious reason is that teamwork has already been a well-established factor in ATL. Figure 5 shows that employees are most satisfied with teamwork, as compared to other factors. According to Ms. Chung, Ann Taylor Loft has been operating in teams, whereby each employee has their own role and responsibilities. Hence, it is likely that ATL is already benefiting from this factor. In fact, Ms. Chung mentioned in the interview that the employees decorate their workstation. This indicates a sense of belonging and also, in the context of Maslows Hierarchy of needs, that the secure and social needs are achieved. As such, because teamwork has been fostered in ATL extensively, it does not yield much potential influence, and therefore, is not the most needed non-financial factor to motivate the employees. It can also be argued that as 76% of the employees claim to be motivated, it is possible that the employees desire esteem needs or even self-actualization rather than the social and security needs in Maslows hierarchy of needs. It is also important to note that John Adairs model of teambuilding speculates that teamwork often focuses on performance and achieving goals, with little attention being paid to individuals within the team and believed that recognition is vital to effective management of teams.

Employees in Ann Taylor Loft voted recognition as the top factor that can motivate them and the second most essential value in a working environment, as shown in Figure 2 and 3. It is important to understand that recognition is not an indication that you think that person is better than anyone else and it is unlikely to make him or her feel superior. Therefore, unlike progression, recognition actually suits the value of equality in ATL. The importance of recognition can be explained by Victor Vrooms expectancy theory that argues individuals expect something in return for their effort. The primary research also shows that recognition is likely to have the greatest impact on the employees motivation as compared to teamwork and progression, because it is likely to be the most lacking factor in this workplace. According to Figure 4, 41% of the team had graded receiving recognition with level 3 or below out of a 5-point scale. In Figure 5, 11% of the team finds recognition existing in their job. Also, the fact that Ms. Chung claims that she is a manager who cares more about the overall performance rather than their feelings suggests employees may seldom receives recognitions. Hence, looking at this great contrast between the lack of recognition in the workplace and the employees yearn for recognition, it is likely that this non-financial factor will have the most significant influence on the employees motivation in ATL, as compared to progression and teamwork. Recognition has significant contributions to employees motivation. A notable example of recognition can be found in Mary Kay Inc. The owner states the heart of Mary Kay is taking note of the person in front of you and a philosophy of praising is also written at her company.

On the other hand, it is important to identify that Figure 4 shows 48% of the employees disagree or disinterested towards the statement I find my salary and wages acceptable. This is a significant number that the management team should consider. However, as financial motivation is outside of the scope of this report, it is suggested for Ann Taylor Loft to detail further research and consider other financial motivation factors as well. Conclusion & recommendations

It is evident that employees in Ann Taylor Loft are already motivated and its working environment dominantly involves well-established teamwork. To answer the research question, progression, teamwork, and recognition are thoroughly analyzed regarding their potential influences on the employees motivation and the degree of correspondence to the working environment. It is concluded that recognition is highly compatible with the working environment and is likely to have greater positive influences on the employees motivation than progression and teamwork, and therefore, it is the most needed non-financial factor by Ann Taylor to increase its employees motivation. Significantly, as employees are rather dissatisfied with their salaries, it is suggested for ATL to consider other financial motivational factors that needs to be further researched. As such, my recommendations for the senior management would be:

Further research about financial motivational factors

Foster a culture in the team that encourages recognition Adopt a mindset of recognition Undertake questionnaires once a year to keep track of the morale of the team

References

Baldoni, J. (2004). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (1 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Bruce, A., & Pepitone, J. S. (1998). Motivating Employees (1 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 270-294). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press. Spector, P. E. (1997). Job Satisfaction: Application, Assessment, Causes, and Consequences (Advanced Topics in Organizational Behavior). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Appendix 1: Interview transcript with Ms. Chung Sin Wa General Merchandising Manager of Ann Taylor Loft

Leo (Me): Who is in charge of Ann Taylor loft ultimately?

Ms Chung: The loft sourcing director is Teresa Chow, whom I am reporting to.

Leo (Me): How would you describe your management style?

Ms Chung: What I do is I set up critical checkpoints and after that I dont really look at the details, unless that person is at risk. I believe managers [under me] should have their ownership. I also consult with my managers and ask for their opinions while making a decision. I would say I am rather democratic.

Leo (Me): How do you think your team sees you?

Ms Chung: Demanding, firm. But they are also under the impression that I care about them, which I do.

Leo (Me): Besides of yourself, who also have inputs on setting your teams objectives?

Ms Chung: The team's objectives are set by the sourcing chief in New York and then the Manager Director of Hong Kong Ann Taylor reset it for the HK team. Afterwards, our directors set the objectives for our sourcing teams and then I set it for my team. All the objectives aimed at achieving the ultimate company objectives are set by the sourcing chief. Each functional team would have their own objectives that are related to their dept's capacity and function.

I work the draft of the objective for my team and discuss with managers to finalize it. Usually, I know they would not have many ideas and usually would prefer me to do that first.

Leo (Me): How do team roles function in your team?

Ms Chung: Each one in the department has their own role and responsibilities. There are routine works that they are doing on their own. I delegate work to them when there's some top down direction or when I see any potential issues. I am managing the team and responsible for the whole team performance, I would intervene whenever needed.

Leo (Me): How motivated do you think you are at work?

Ms Chung: Quite motivated. Well, if I, as a manager is not even motivated, how can I motivate people under me.

Leo (Me): How well do you think you motivate your team?

Ms Chung: Not so motivated. I am a person who cares more about the overall performance rather than their feelings.

Leo (Me): How would you describe the morale in your team?

Ms Chung: Not too bad.

Leo (Me): Is a sense of belonging fostered in your team?

Ms Chung: Yes, they come back to work even they are sick. In addition, a lot of them decorate their workstation very well.

Leo (Me): If possible, what changes would you make to motivate your team more?

Ms Chung: I am planning to restructure my team to leverage my resources I have right now, which can eventually distribute the workload evenly among my team. Also, it is important to let them perceive that they have opportunities to grow. Recognition of their effort and performance is also essential in motivating my team.

Leo (Me): How would you describe the corporate culture in the company?

Ms Chung: The culture here is pretty good. We are in general discipline, organized, systematic, structure, reasonable and friendly. Many people in the industry would like to work in Ann Taylor Hong Kong.

Leo (Me): Is there any value fostered within your team?

Ms Chung: We value fairness and responsibility, and also the eagerness to achieve.

Leo (Me): In your opinion, what problems exist in your team?

Ms Chung: Although we are doing pretty good and actually better than other teams in the evaluations, I do believe that we still have communication barriers from the middle to the junior or the bottom level. That is the most junior staff. Sometimes, the company's new directions or changes are not communicated effectively as people are far too busy and would skip some relatively less important emails to them.

Leo (Me): Have you been complained by your subordinates in this team before?

Ms Chung: No. Not that I know of.

Leo (Me): How do you find the performance of your team?

Ms Chung: In general, I feel satisfied with my team as they meet my expectations. However, there are always rooms for improvement.

Leo (Me): How well do you think the results and figures reflect the working environment in Ann Taylor Loft?

Ms Chung: Not unexpected.

Leo (Me): Is there any competition amongst teams in the company?

Ms Chung: We don't create a competitive atmosphere but it is inevitable that each team would like to perform better if not the same as others. Nobody wants to be the last performer. To a certain extent, positive competition is good but I always encourage the managers to work together and to share best practices and failure experiences so other teams can learn from it. As I am a fair manager, the competition within the team is minimal and positive.

Appendix 2: Sample questionnaire for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

Employees motivation survey

The following questionnaire is designed to identify how motivated the staff is and the reasons to why are they motivated or dissatisfied at work. One of its other intent is also to establish information for you to understand the conditions that will tend to increase your motivation at work

Gender: Male Female Age group: 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 or above

How long have you been working in Anntaylor _____(in years)

In Q01 12, Please score the following statements with a 5-point scale.

(with 1 being fully disagree and 5, fully agree)

Q01. I am satisfied with Ann Taylor as a place to work.

Score: _____

Q02. I find my salary and wages acceptable.

Score: _____

Q03. I know what is expected of me at work.

Score: _____

Q04. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.

Score: _____

Q05. In the last seven days, I have received recognition/ praise for doing good work.

Score: _____

Q06. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday.

Score: _____

Q07. At work, my opinion seems to count.

Score: _____

Q08. I expected to be working at Ann Taylor one year from now.

Score: _____

Q09. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

Score: _____

Q10. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

Score: _____

Q11. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Score: _____

Q12. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress

Score: _____

Please pick the suitable items according to the Q14-16

Competition Flexibility Remuneration Achievement Interest Job security

Power Progression GrowthRecognition Pressure Autonomy

Status Teamwork Others: ________________

Q14. Which item(s) do you value the most in a workplace.

_____________________________________________________________________

Q15. Which item(s) do you need most in order to increase your motivation?

Q16. How far do the items you picked above exist in you current job?

Q17. Do you think you are motivated at work? Why or why not

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR HELPING!

HAVE A NICE DAY ( Chung Sin Wa is the General merchandising manager of Ann Taylor Loft.

Ann Taylor Ltd. Is an American apparel retailer for professional woman established in 1956.

ANN TAYLOR Women's Apparel: Home Page. (n.d.). ANN TAYLOR Women's Apparel: Home Page. Retrieved December 14, 2009, from http://www.anntaylor.com/home.jsp

Note that this report focuses only on the Ann Taylor Loft division in the Hong Kong office of Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd. This division consists of 30 employees and they are hold accountable to their General Merchandising Manager, Anna Chung Sin Wa.

The General Merchandising Manager of Ann Taylor Loft

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 270-294). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

In the questionnaire, question 14 to 16 offers a list of non-financial motivational factors for the employees to choose and Figure 2, 3, and 5 each represents question 14, 15, and 16 respectively.

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft.

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 278). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 279). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 280). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 287). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Hoang, P. (2007). Motivation. International Baccalaureate Business and Management (pp. 287). Victoria, Australia: Ibid Press.

Baldoni, J. (2004). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (1 ed.). (pp.150). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Baldoni, J. (2004). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (1 ed.). (pp.150). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Baldoni, J. (2004). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (1 ed.). (pp.155). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Appendix 1 Interview with Chung Sin Wa

Baldoni, J. (2004). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (1 ed.). (pp.160). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Appendix 2 Questionnaires for employees in Ann Taylor Loft

This does not necessarily means an increase in salary or any modification on the payment system. According to John Baldoni, the Southwest airlines established a second wind team of 20 employees to help alleviate stress. Eventually, a library of self-help books is set up and seminars about stress are also provided for their employees.

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